Oregon St. president: Tressel 'beyond the pale'

Posted on: March 31, 2011 1:12 pm

Posted by Jerry Hinnen

Oregon State president Ed Ray is in something of a unique position when it comes to the Jim Tressel brouhaha at Ohio State. As a former vice president and provost in Columbus, Ray was one of the Buckeye officials who hired Tressel away from Youngstown State and knows Tressel personally. But as the current president of the NCAA's Executive Committee (the committee which oversees changes to NCAA's byzantine rulebook and bylaws), he's also heavily invested in seeing the NCAA's standards and rules upheld.

"I just thought the world of him ... " Ray said. "I would assume he's certainly been a very positive influence on many of the players that he had. But this whole episode to me is beyond the pale. It's totally unacceptable ..."

The NCAA has not yet ruled on Tressel's transgression, and Ray emphasized that he was speaking for himself only. But on how NCAA enforcement officials might view Tressel's case, Ray said, "If I were in their position, I'd be a hanging judge."

He continued: "I think there are lines you don't cross in your own life.... I'm not a big mercy guy. I'm not a big understander of extenuating circumstances. We all sort of engage in thinking about situational ethics. But I'm kinda old-school. And I think you're either ethical or you're not ethical."

As Ray himself points out, his opinion is not necessarily an opinion shared by the NCAA colleagues who will ultimately decide Tressel's punishment fate. And Ray's personal disappointment with a man he clearly respected a great deal is also likely coloring his remarks.

With that said, Ray also remains representative of the type of academically-focused officials who populate the NCAA and will be on the committee reviewing the Tressel case. If his response to Tressel's transgressions are even remotely similar to those shared across the NCAA, that five-game suspension could be the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

Oregon St. president: Tressel 'beyond the pale'

@Bosox, you are probably right -- my apologies for being quick on the trigger. I also agree that the US is not at all perfect. But we are good: How many other countries have rebuilt their enemies instead of bleeding them dry? The Soviet Union stole everything it could from East Germany. Yeah, the USSR suffered worse than us, but they exacted a nasty retribution as well. And being just a tiny bit better is preferable to being at the same level. Thanks for having my back with Austen!

@Austen. Have you ever read any history? Iraq was created by Britain, with little regard for what the "Iraqi" peoples wanted. The roots of today's problems stem directly from the hodgepodge that Britain created. Here is a link to a BBC article: Likewise Italy played a significant role in what is today Libya. Another article for you: Note the article states Italy is estimated to have killed half the Bedouin population between 1928 and 1932. Ya think that may have created a little resentment towards Westerners/non-Arabs?

Again, my apologies for going off-topic, but stupidity is like kudzu: You let get a toehold and it will soon choke out reason and intelligence.

Since: Sep 11, 2006

Posted on: April 1, 2011 3:34 pm

Oregon St. president: Tressel 'beyond the pale'

we don't need any soccer-loving wimps fags to tell us how to run a corrupt enterprise like Ohio State athletics.

I fixed it for you, although I will probably get punished for that. That is ok, however, because being a fan of Ohio State, I am an expert at the cover up. I didn't type that derogatory term for a homosexual there, someone hacked my account. I typed the word, but I was referring to a junior pupil at a private preparatory school who runs errands for a senior pupil. All good. Also, Ohio State athletics isn't corrupt, they are merely misunderstood.

Since: Jan 17, 2007

Posted on: April 1, 2011 3:10 pm

Oregon St. president: Tressel 'beyond the pale'

Hey ILUVCFB:

"Why not save your opinions until after ALL OF THE story comes out? "

What fun would that be???

Since: Jun 21, 2009

Posted on: April 1, 2011 2:37 pm

Oregon St. president: Tressel 'beyond the pale'

are you kidding me? Does FRANCE ring a bell? I guess storming the beaches of Normandy doesn't count as bailing out a country.

Haha, love it. Yeah, I'm so sick, too, of those cheese-eating, beret-wearing wimps who do nothing but let us come save their butts every century or two. And anybody who thinks that the US 'bailing out' France in WWII might be considered, in historical terms, returning the favor for France's support of the colonies' fight for independence from England during the Revolutionary War is an idiot. America bails other countries out, nobody has ever helped America. That's why America is such a great country, we don't need any soccer-loving wimps to tell us how to run a corrupt enterprise like Ohio State athletics.

Since: Apr 16, 2007

Posted on: April 1, 2011 1:10 pm

Oregon St. president: Tressel 'beyond the pale'

Nothing that the players did was criminal. What Tress did to cover it up was the problem. What Nixon did was bad, but actively covering it up was what made him resign.

Since: Aug 28, 2006

Posted on: April 1, 2011 10:28 am

Oregon St. president: Tressel 'beyond the pale'

For " The Ohio State University" to stand behind coach Tressel as they have will only make things worse for OSU. By standing up for this man, OSU is stating that they believe he did nothing wrong. In the eyes of the NCAA that will not look good and the penelties will be just as bad for the school as they will be for the coach.

I believe that if OSU would just keep their comments to themselves instead of trying to plead the case in the press the NCAA might not hit the university as hard, as they do the coach but when you have people from the university saying " Jim Tressel is our coach and we stand behind him" you are snubbing your nose at the NCAA.

Since: Nov 15, 2006

Posted on: April 1, 2011 9:40 am

Oregon St. president: Tressel 'beyond the pale'

Since: Nov 15, 2006

Posted on: April 1, 2011 9:35 am

Oregon St. president: Tressel 'beyond the pale'

Since: Apr 1, 2011

Posted on: April 1, 2011 8:19 am

Oregon St. president: Tressel 'beyond the pale'

Opinions are like A--Holes you all obviously have very different ones. I is so funny to watch fans of each college waiting to attack the enemy at the first sign of weakness in thier armor, ie (NCAA violations). It would be nice to actaully see a nuetral voice once in awhile that does not have an agenda to personally attack at the first sign of trouble in lieu of waiting for the whole truth to come out. The sports writers and commentators have become the judge and jury on everything that is said now. The push opinions ahead of facts and render thier decisions before testimony even begins. This is of coarse thier job, to fill the airwaves with endless dribble and speculations on who, where what and why they have already found that hours pattsy guilty as charged. There are more sports commentators at ESPN(I use that term losely) that are no more qualified to render an opnion on someone else's troubles then I am. Why not save your opinions until after ALL OF THE story comes out?

Since: Oct 14, 2010

Posted on: April 1, 2011 7:22 am

Oregon St. president: Tressel 'beyond the pale'

Buckeye Nation,

You guys sound a lot like USC fan (can't beat us on the field; nothing serious is going to happen) before the NCAA brought the hammer down on that program.

The feeling here is that the NCAA will come down hard on Tressel, but will give OSU a "sneak" preview on the penalties to see if OSU still wants to stand by Tressel. If he is then fired, the NCAA will hand down somthing less opposing, but if the OSU President wants to continue to stand by its coach...

What we do know from past history is the NCAA doesn't like being lied to, or deceived by. The've come down hard on student-athletes for doing this (see Dez Bryant), and the coach is and should be held on a much higher standard.